KINGSTON, N.Y. -- Retired city Fire Chief Richard Salzmann was charged with four misdemeanors on Thursday after the state Comptroller's Office said he received more than $5,500 in pay during 2010 and 2011 to which he was not entitled.

The Comptroller's Office also said Chris Rea, who followed Salmzann as chief but was suspended soon after, received about $16,500 to which he was not entitled. Rea, though, has not been charged with any crime.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said the city itself bears responsibility for the problem.

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"These errors occurred because the city had lax processes and relied on unverified, incomplete and inaccurate records," DiNapoli said in a press release.

Salzmann was charged with four counts of offering a false instrument for filing, according to the City Court clerk. He pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Thursday morning in the court and was released on his own recognizance, the clerk's office said.

Misdemeanors carry a maximum sentence of one year in county jail.

Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright said Thursday afternoon that Salzmann himself prepared the payroll documents that allowed him to receive the excess money and altered them to his benefit when notified about possible problems.

Salzmann's attorney, Paul Gruner, said only: "They filed a complaint, which I received this morning for the first time, and it is a mere statement of the charges. That is all I can tell you right now."

In his press release, DiNapoli said an audit of Kingston payroll controls found Salzmann had received $5,558 more than he was entitled to in buyout payments.

In 2010, Salzmann received a lump-sum payment of $3,100 for 37 unused vacation days, though his employment contract only entitled him to "convert a maximum of 30 vacation days per year for pay," DiNapoli said.

Then, in 2011, Salzmann converted 129.5 compensatory hours to a cash payment "even though his contract only allowed payment for the first 80 hours of extra time," DiNapoli said.

Salzmann's annual salary when he retired a year ago was $79,391.

DiNapoli said Rea, as assistant chief, received $10,000 in supplemental time, even though his contract did not provide such a benefit, and an additional "$5,800 for leave accruals that did not exist." In all, Rea received $16,656 to which he was not entitled, according to a 23-page audit report issued by DiNapoli's office.

The report said five city employees, including Salzmann and Rea, received a total of about $23,200 to which they were not entitled, and it blamed "insufficient internal controls."

The report did not identify the other three people, whose excess pay appears to have totaled about $1,000.

Salzmann announced his retirement in January 2012, and Mayor Shayne Gallo said immediately that he had asked Carnright to investigate the chief for "time in attendance" issues.

Gallo then promoted Rea to chief but rescinded the appointment two weeks later and suspended Rea without pay, again citing "time in attendance" issues.

Rea later sued the city, asking that he put back on the city payroll and be cleared of disciplinary charges against him. The suit was dismissed by a judge who said Rea did not act in a timely manner, but Rea has appealed that decision.

DiNapoli said he appreciated Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo's administration taking the initiative to recognize "these issues and bring them to the attention of my office."

"The mayor and his staff, however, will need to continue to work hard to ensure employees only collect compensation they're entitled to receive," DiNapoli said.

The audit report included several recommendations for the city to improve its payroll controls. They included:

o Develop comprehensive policies and procedures to address the maintenance of leave time records and ensure that accurate information for time accruals is maintained, monitored and periodically reconciled by someone independent of the record maintenance function.

o Establish internal control procedures to ensure that leave accrual payments are made in accordance with applicable collective bargaining contracts, employment agreements or (Common) Council action.

o Develop comprehensive payroll policies and procedures to ensure that employees are reviewing and certifying their time and attendance records.

o Review the employment policies, agreements and contracts and provide clear guidance as to which benefits are intended for each category of employees.

The report also said they city should take action to recover the inappropriate payments noted by the comptroller.

Gallo has scheduled a press conference for 11 a.m. Friday at which he will discuss the situation. (The Freeman will livestream the press conference at www.dailyfreeman.com.)

Gallo said on Thursday that he was "very disappointed, and I feel very bad for (Salzmann's) family."

"And I am extremely disappointed with the prior administration (of Mayor James Sottile) for fostering a culture of entitlement which resulted in a gift of public funds," Gallo said.

Sottile, who was mayor from January 2002 to December 2011, did not return a reporter's calls on Thursday.

Salzmann worked for the fire department for about 30 years and served as its chief for 14.

He was appointed chief by Gallo's late brother, former Mayor T.R. Gallo, and held the position throughout Sottile's time as mayor.